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Vanko Ursinovich
Vanko Ursinovich was a Mobian ursine who was well known for being one of the few traders active the jungles of Southamer. Characterized by his strong Mercian accent, his shrewdness as a businessman, and his notable girth, Vanko was a light of civilization in an otherwise lawless place. While he was more than willing to make a deal from almost any angle and with almost any customer, Vanko was more than willing to deal with threats rather directly if he felt that he was being personally threatened. Officially, Vanko is a Mercian national living in Southamer, though due to the area technically being lawless outside of the clans living in the region, Vanko is a man without a country. Being descended from a brown bear, Vanko is quite large and imposing, usually scaring away smaller threats. His skills vary across melee combat, as well as ranged weaponry, typically rifles. His trading post is in a prime location for him to dominate the general area's needs. He even trades directly with the UEG while at the same time trading with the local tribes, thus completing his own circle of life while at the same time padding his own coffers. Biography Vanko's life has been a combination of false stories and red herrings. According to Vanko himself, he spent his life as an orphan after being left by his parents at the age of two on the doorstep of a Mercian monastery, though he sometimes tells an alternate version where he was instead left in the mountains of the country where he was then raised by non-sapient wolves. The truth is likely far less interesting which is why he never says it at the local bars. Vanko himself appears to have had lineage stemming from Urush, though there is no guaranteed way to say for certain that this is true. Vanko's namesake was likely Russian and thus bestowed part of his patronymic name onto Vanko's ancestor, and he bore it with pride. His youth was one of skimping, saving, and hustling anybody he could sink his claws into. By the time he had reached his twenties, Vanko had established his own trade route all throughout Mercia. Armed with knowledge of how the region's limited market worked as well as with experience from the West over the ocean, Ursanovich had earned enough money to travel to Northamer to expand his operations. This was before the Great War though when economic prosperity was still a certainty for those that were willing to play into some risk. Vanko arrived in Northamer, specifically the East Coast port city of Banderben located midway up the Eastern seaboard in 3214. Here in the city, he continued to apply his trade into local businesses, investing and trading as was usual. However, in established cities with modern technology, he found himself now at a disadvantage. Northamerians utilized things like the stock market and electronic means of getting what they wanted from the market. These were concepts that Ursanovich was not prepared for. He fumbled and struggled to maintain the high level of income that he saw in Mercia and by 3219 was nearly destitute. In 3220 though when the war began, he was drafted into the military from Knothole, where he eventually ended up trying to break even. Vanko entered the military at 29 years old, which was fairly older than the average recruitment age. Thankfully, much of Ursanovich's service was behind friendly lines working as a quartermaster at his own request. This was likely how he kept his skills sharpened. Acorn military officer commented favorably on how Vanko had adjusted to his new role. What they couldn't know however was that he was still retaining a profit on the side. The scandal was not discovered until after the war's conclusion. Vanko was expelled from the military with very little of his honors intact due to his negotiations with the judge on the matter. Vanko exited the Kingdom of Acorn's military at the age of Sergeant First Class. Vanko immediately set off for Southamer given how he had gone to cities like Reoh for leave. While in Felidae, Julian Kintobor initiated his coup and deposed the Acorns, leaving him the ruler of what is now known as Robotropolis. Ursinovich did what he did best in this new land - make money and make a lot of it. Oftentimes, he was in a position to trade an item, but not have any monetary compensation to back it up. Bartering began to become the rule of thumb out in the back countries of Southamer. Vanko found himself traveling for deals and for unique goods that he could then sell to others or receive favors for. From 3226 all the way to 3234, Vanko established himself far away from Reoh. He had become tired of things like war and politics. He wanted to get away from it all and be his own man. In the Great Wilderness of the South, he built his own home and trading post by hand. While construction was going on, he made his first contact with the Wolves of the valley. These were tribal groups that had knowledge of the outside world. To Vanko's surprise, they were friendly and spoke English fluently, indicating that they had some form of contact with the North. The group's leader, named Lupe, entered into a financial relationship with him, using Vanko as a means to get supplies that could otherwise not be made in the village. Vanko made a good deal of profit selling goods back in greater civilization. He frequently made trips back to the city using his truck to sell whatever had been traded to him. However, he really didn't start making it big until he heard in mid 3234 that a race of people called Humans had become trapped in their world. Vanko, hungry for money, eagerly tried to get in contact with them. The first Humans he ever met wandered into his trading post because they were lost. Vanko, assuming the Humans were Overlanders, held them at gunpoint for three hours. It was later revealed that the two Humans were naval NCOs that were trying to explore the area, had seen the clearing where he lived, and set down out of curiosity. Ursinovich's home was eventually surrounded by ODSTs who had dropped from orbit around his trading post. After the Humans explained that they were Humans and not Overlanders countless times, Vanko let them go, and offered them moonshine that he regularly brewed in his basement. Surprisingly, the NCOs accepted the drinks. Vanko hadn't broken any laws though due to there being no law in the region, had reason to be threatened by visitors that had not announced themselves beforehand, and based on the general acceptance that Humans were close enough visually to Overlanders to spur a response. He was not imprisoned for holding several UEG government employees hostage. After that incident, he became interested in the Humans' goods and began buying them in bulk from places where they frequently landed, like Reoh. He then sold these to tribes in the region and they in turn, offered him greater goods. Vanko had a strange feeling of altruism rising in him as he was essentially giving the tribes technology like electricity and water purification equipment. Places like the Wolf Clan's village began to modernize overnight and become more like a small recognized state. Humans came and went, mainly for spiritual teaching from Lupe, who either accepted people or turned them away, but not without taking them in for the night to account for the four hour journey to her camp from Vanko's clearing. Vanko also didn't seem to mind that he was using his clearing as a parking lot for ships that came to land there. He even charged several of them upkeep fees where he even washed them of grit and grime that naturally accumulated. As of 3241, Vanko continues to run his trading post and is significantly more modernized as well. Solar panels, ground water wells, humidification to potable filters, among other technologies kept him off the grid and self-sufficient. His existence in the jungle proved that anybody could dig their feet into the muck and make something of themselves, provided they were willing to get their hands dirty. Personality Vanko was characterized as a man who was regarded as nice and friendly, though he could be a powerful enemy. He was physically imposing and had an anger to match when the two coincided in the same circumstances. He was also-profit minded, being a businessman. He thought of himself as an entrepreneur, and he was correct as he was the only trader of his type in that area of the continent. Vanko had a sort of diplomatic immunity among warring tribes in the region due to being a trader. He was revered because of his connections in the North and tribes would go out of their way keeping him safe. In fact, the area where Vanko's trading post lays is neutral ground. Parties can meet to discuss terms or negotiate without fear of reprisal, also due to the fact that the clearing was almost a few hundred meters wide at its largest point. This gave Vanko almost a sense of stewardship of justice. He was fond of the fact that the tribes thought of him as the beacon of civilization in an otherwise untamed jungle and he kept the peace as best he could, sometimes forcibly. Behind the Scenes Vanko's surname, Ursinovich seems to be revealing a pattern with some of the bear characters I have used in CC. These characters seem to sneak Urs into their name in some way. Ursine is in fact a way to refer to a type of bear. However, what I also did was made him more than a little Russian at the same time. Ursinovich, to a keen Russian reader will be revealed not to be a surname, but a patronym. The -vich suffix typically is understood to mean 'son of' in Russian. This is kind of seen as a middle name in full names like Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. However, Vanko, not actually being Russian, uses it as a surname. This would mean either his namesake gave Ivan's ancestor a patronym as a symbolic gesture of stewardship, or Vanko's ancestor chose the name itself because it sounded cool. List of Appearances * For Maya (First Appearance) Category:Character Category:Mobian